The Veela, The Seeker and The Bookworm
by Promise10
Summary: A little event can change everything. A more aware Harry Potter manages to save Fleur Delacour from Victor Krum in the maze, and there begins an unusual friendship that would unearth secrets capable of rocking magical Britain. Also, where exactly does Harry's female best friend fit into all of these? H/Hr/Fleur
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: What's the probability that I own even a sliver of the wonderful franchise that is Harry Potter? Zero, right? I thought so too. Damn. On with the story...**

" _Crucio_." The infallible torture curse sailed through the air towards her as Fleur closed her eyes and waited for the pain surely about to envelop her, but to her great surprise was shoved aside by someone forcibly slamming into her, forcing both of them out of the spell's trajectory and shouting out incantations at a rapid pace, " _Expelliarmus_!" " _Stupefy_!" It seemed that the dual spells had done their trick as the unmistakable heavy sound of a body hitting the ground made itself heard. Fleur peeked her eyes open curiously, certain that it was a teacher who had noticed the travesty and had come to her aid, but found herself startled to be looking into the jade eyes of the ' _lettle boy_ ', Harry Potter.

Correction-he certainly wasn't little, and she really regretted the fact that she had judged him so scornfully during their first (or was it second?) encounter. He had proved his capabilities strongly enough when he outflew a dragon-a dragon, for Merlin's sake, and what was more that he had saved her little sister from a horrible fate (she still didn't like to think how close to death her sister had been) during the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament, and now he had just taken on an opponent way out of his league to save her and he had-won?

"Hey, are you alright? He didn't manage to do anything to you, did he?" The concerned voice of the teenager spoke up.

She shook her head gratefully, "I'm fine...thanks to you."

"That's good", Harry grinned before turning serious, "So would you happen to know anything about why our little Bulgarian friend was just about to hit you with one of the nastiest curses in the history of wizardkind?"

She shook her head helplessly, "I don't know-he just came out of nowhere and started attacking me-I was totally caught off-guard. This was just so unexpected."

"Right." Harry scrunched his eyebrows, "There's obviously something more here than meets the eye-I found Cedric unconscious and tied up a while back, and it seems dear Victor was about to do you the same favour-but why? Isn't this a bit extreme to win, even for Durmstrung, if that was his motive at all?"

"Maybe someone was making him do it?" Fleur suggested.

"That's certainly probable-so if someone has rigged this task..."

"Has rigged?"

"Correction noted. If someone _did_ rig this task, which is the most likely explanation although without any explicable reason, I think it would be better if we stick together while exploring this maze-think of this as an informal team-up. So what do you think?"

The gorgeous veela could see the potential in his plan and nodded, "I think that is a very good idea."

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"What?" Fleur asked Harry irritably as he had noticed the boy steal looks at her for the last half an hour. He had proved himself to be an invaluable ally while tackling the challenges of the maze, but now that they could feel themselves close to the end, courtesy of a handy _'Point-Me_ ' charm, she certainly did not need a lovesick idiot by her side. Pity, initially she had thought that the boy could resist her Veela charm, but he was clearly affected-what else could it be?

"Nothing-it's just that I noticed that you have been talking in perfect English the entire time we have been in the maze."

She huffed, "we are in a situation where a misstep could be the death of both of us, and that's the only thing you can think of?"

"Hey, life and death situations are just normal for me-just ask Hermione if you don't believe me. So, getting to know that you are not quite so snobbish under that mask is certainly the more remarkable point here. After all, I know you are an amazing painter, and according to Gabby, you sing lullabies pretty well, and now this? That gives a whole new perspective to you. I am honoured to know you, ma'am."

Fleur was surprised-she knew Gabrielle had been spending quite some time with Harry after he had saved her, but it surprised her that they actually talked about her...other facets. Most people couldn't even hold a conversation with her or about her, without picturing her naked. However, she was not going to let him get one over her, and spoke up. "You know nothing." Her tone was droll, purposefully trying to spite him, "I am just a snob who knows perfect English and wants to showcase her superiority to her companion who doesn't even have an inkling of the French language."

Harry raised his eyebrows, "Wow, so you actually have a sense of humour-who knew?"

"I thought you would." She smirked.

"I do now." He smirked back, before pausing, "Oh, wow, would you look at that. We are at journey's end."

Sure enough, the glistening and glittering Triwizard Cup stood in front of them, ready to be embraced by the Champion. "So what do you say? On the count of three?" Harry offered.

She was startled, "What?"

"I thought it was pretty obvious-on the count of three, we take hold of the Cup together, and we both win."

"What? No. It's your victory, Harry-I wouldn't even be standing here if not for you. Go take it." She encouragingly stated.

Harry shook his head, "Just listen to me-I am not interested in winning, never was. Cedric was the real Hogwarts champion, and he was put out of the way for some yet unknown reasons-it would just not feel right for me to win the Trophy for Hogwarts, especially after what the school has offered me this year..." For a second his tone hardened, and Fleur felt herself shiver slightly, "Plus isn't this supposed to be an event fostering international co-operation? What better way to co-operate than to win the Trophy together?"

Fleur was clearly still hesitating, so Harry further cajoled her, "think how happy Gabby will be when her big sister wins the bright silver cup-and don't think I am being excessively noble. I just want to see the look on the faces of the assorted guests when we do this-I know an old dog who would be very proud of me for doing this." He crackled up.

The last statement was weird, even for his standard, but Fleur figured it was better not to ask. "Fine, but I would still feel better if you got something more out of it." She frowned.

"Well...now that you suggest that...when this is over, why don't we sit down together to have a nice day and talk-know more about each other?" Suddenly, his voice had turned a bit shy, the confidence slightly evaporating. Fleur found it inordinately cute-and him too, to be honest. "Harry Potter-are you asking me out on a date?" She teased.

"Well-that is-", he fumbled, but Fleur put him out of his misery, "A date it is." She agreed with a dazzling smile, he was certainly a step up...or make that ten from the kind of people she was usually forced to hang around with.

"Right. Cool, so, ready?"

Fleur nodded. "One, two, three". Suddenly there was a tug in their navel, and both the teens found themselves whisked away to locations unknown.

 **A/N: Not sure if I would continue this, but I needed to write something after returning to this fandom after such a long time. So what do you think might happen next?**


	2. Chapter 2: Mist and Mystery

**Disclaimer: I own Harry Potter. (Looks around nervously) Okay, nothing happened, but it's better to be safe and admit that it was a joke...everything belongs to J.K. Rowling and whoever else she sold the rights to. So let's proceed...**

 **Chapter 2: Mist and Mystery**

Harry and his female companion landed with a thump as the world stopped spinning around them. It took a second for him to gain his bearings. Okay, so they were in some sort of a creepy graveyard enshrouded by a thick blanket of mist-that was about all he could see anyway. His second thought was to analyze his own status. His legs seemed to be working perfectly, his head would be fine in a moment after it had stopped spinning, and his hands were rested comfortably against something very soft...

The moment the realization hit him, he sprung up like a spring. "F-Fleur, I'm sorry I didn't mean to..."

The older girl stopped his tirade with a smirk, "It's okay, Harry...I understand perfectly, but next time you want to feel them...maybe you should just ask nicely."

Harry was completely unsure about whether she was joking or not and figured it was better not to ask. "So where do you think we are now?"

Fleur shook her head, completely puzzled over this turn of events. However, she could make out a blurred figure in the distance-probably due to her better eyesight. "Do you think someone's there?"

Harry squinted in that general direction, completely unsure. "Hello, is anyone..."

His words were interrupted by a nasally, high-pitched voice that sent a cold shiver through Harry's spine-it was the same voice that haunted many of his nightmares. "Obey me, you fool. Kill the girl."

" **Avada Kedavra**." Another voice rang out in compliance, followed by a sickly bolt of green light directed right at the Beauxbaton champion.

That might have worked when the two teens had just arrived in the scene and were lying entangled in the ground. However, even an old stooge would probably try to dodge the killing curse, and both the teens were already paranoid and prepared from handling the maze. The spell proved to be completely futile as the agile target moved out of the way and immediately countered with her own powerful cry, " **Lumos Solem**." The seemingly benign spell served a dual purpose as it immediately blinded her assailant from the glare and also illuminated the area enough for Harry to have a clear shot at the perpetrator. He didn't falter and immediately backed her up with a " **Stupefy** " that knocked the other guy out cold. That didn't stop Fleur from either dishing out her own special hex to make the assailant's privates itch intolerably, or letting out a string of curses in her native language that would make a sailor blush.

However, Harry for once was not paying attention to her and was looking intently at the man sprawled on the ground. Fleur stopped her tirade and looked curiously at the teen, "Harry, what is the matter?"

"That man who attacked you-I know that man... and I also know that voice which commanded him to attack you. But how...how is it possible?"

Fleur realised that she was missing something big here, but this was neither the time or place to ask about those things. She still couldn't understand where they were or shake off the nagging feeling that they were still in danger. She tried to break Harry out of his reverie with a small quip, "Didn't you say extraordinary situations are only normal for you? So what do you make of this situation, Mr. Expert?"

"Well, I don't have any idea what that thing is supposed to be, but it's voice sure resembles an old pal of mine-Lord Voldemort." Harry pointed to the baby-like creature in front of them.

Fleur gasped, unsure if she had heard him correctly. But...but that was impossible. That man...no, not a man, but a beast...his legends had reached even her ears, but that man had died, hadn't he? He was vanquished by Harry himself. Yet, the tone of Harry's voice didn't leave a shred of doubt that he was dead serious about this. She decided to file up this new list of crazy for future reference and decided to help out in some other way. She walked over to the babyish figure Harry was crouching over and spoke, "It seems to be a homunculus. They are purely magical constructs to..."

"Hold the soul of a person?" Harry interrupted.

Fleur mused over the question, "I have never thought about that application, but yes-that might be possible."

Harry peered further closely at the magical abomination. It had been strangely quiet since the earlier command it had given to the traitor, and that didn't sit well with him. He wished it would do something.

There's a saying: Be careful what you wish for.

Suddenly, the red tinged reptilian eyes of the homunculus opened as it hissed in an eerie voice, " _Nagini, come to your master's rescue_."

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Lord Voledemort was not at all _pleased_ with how things had turned out. The planning was perfect, and it seemed that Barty had managed to fulfil the end of his bargain by sending Potter to the graveyard. However, instead of being shaken from the trials of the maze, the boy seemed to be in impressively high spirits and he also had a companion with him. That was not a part of the plan! Further, when he had instructed Wormtail to finish off the girl, he seemed to go into a trance and had completely disregarded his whispered instructions until he had been forced to raise his voice. That blasted French girl was a Veela-there was no doubt about that. However, that hesitation had proved to be the turning point. It was already too late, and the advantage of an ambush was lost. Wormtail, like the pathetic wizard he was, had been quickly subdued and he knew that his plans for regaining a new body was in tatters. However, he was never without a back-up plan, and he still had a far more trustworthy servant nearby. He closed his eyes and sought out his familiar as Potter and the girl debated over the proceedings, and managed to connect with her just as they were about to take some actions. He opened his eyes and hissed, " _Nagini, come to your master's rescue_."

"Look out." Potter yelled, somehow understanding the command he had uttered in parseltongue as both of them shifted back to a tombstone to gain some leverage against the large reptile that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The girl immediately cast a flame curse against his pet, but that washed harmlessly over its scales. A blinding curse sent towards her by Potter was equally non-effective. He had made sure that the vessel storing a part of his soul would be nearly invulnerable to magic.

"Well, it doesn't seem to be affected much by magic." Harry spoke up, all the while inching backwards.

"Thank you, Captain obvious." Fleur retorted before transfiguring the pebbles on the ground into a herd of mice that clustered around the reptile, trying to distract it and buy them some time.

" _Ignore the mice._ _Kill them_." He hissed. He would have his revenge tonight, and having a part of him destroy Potter was satisfactory enough in his opinion. He was pretty certain that the protection gained from his mother's sacrifice would not protect Potter from a snakebite.

"Not today." He was surprised as Potter spoke up defiantly, instead of cowering in fear even after watching how useless their attempts to stop Nagini was. "For today, I have had enough of monsters." He paused and closed his eyes, as if to focus and as Nagini slithered nearer to the duo, his eyes snapped open, literally glowing in the dark and his hair seemed to rustle in an unseen wind. "Fleur, put a shield up as soon as I cast. **Confringo**!"

Even in his long life which had consisted of facing up against many great wizards, Lord Voldemort had rarely seen such a display of raw power. The blast rippled through the ground, sending an enormous shockwave that sent him reeling backwards and he gritted his teeth in pain as his skin broke open from the impact with ground. Nagini was not unharmed as well-the great serpent had been flung in midair and was lying dazed further away. It was invulnerable to most magic, but certainly not to physical damage caused by a spell, especially when it had not even hit her but the ground. Most wizards wouldn't even have thought of that. He quickly calculated-there was no way he could coordinate Nagini's movements or aid her in his present state, plus his magical body would soon start to degenerate again. There was nothing to be gained today anymore-Potter had certainly been very lucky (he didn't even think about the fact that his adversary could be skilled as well), and so he would live-for today. He mentally commanded Nagini to retreat as he was forced to again become incorporeal and take up residence in his familiar's mind. His homunculus was left behind, soon to be disintegrated. There would be no proof-nobody could know that he was alive, not until he wished them to. He might have lost today, but another plan was already forming in his mind.

Meanwhile, as the dust cleared, Fleur gaped at the sight of Harry. She never knew someone so young to possess so much power, and it sang to her Veela nature. However, she squashed that thought away...at least partially, and simply stated, "Well, that was-impressive."

"Thanks." Harry tried to grin, before suddenly faltering.

"Harry!" Fleur was alarmed. "Are you alright?"

"I am fine, just a little tired. You know what they say-'With great power, comes great need to take a nap.'"

She had to smile at his antics, before she turned serious, "I think both of them got away-the spirit and the snake, but it would probably be wiser to not chase after them."

"Right. It was good for us that they weren't prepared-and great for me that you were with me. I certainly couldn't have handled this alone."

She tried to answer in a haughty manner, "Well, that is the speciality of a civilised race-we take pity on our weaker brethren", but underneath she was smiling. She knew that if anything, it was Harry that had saved both of them-again.

"Well, any ideas on how to get out of here?" Harry questioned.

"I can sense that some traces of magic is still left in that cup-it might be a two way portkey. We can try using it."

"Certainly, and we will take the rat with us." With that thought, suddenly, Harry's face lit up in a joy so innocent that Fleur had to smile-again, although she still didn't understand his words-"Just wait, Sirius. You're going to be free very soon."

Together, they took hold of the portkey with the knowledge that they would soon be back at the premises of the finest school of magic in Britain.

 **A/N: Well, the response to chapter 1 was surprisingly positive, so I have decided to continue. Somebody asked me how Hermione was going to fit in with the duo, and all I have to say in that regard is that it will certainly take a bit of time before her part in the story is revealed, but I think it would be pretty cool. Thanks to everyone who reviewed-I love reading them, and someone's guess was incredibly astute (you know who you are). What are your thoughts on this chapter? Was it too quick or just okay? Let me know.**


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